Anomalous peak-effect in type-II superconductors: A competition between bulk pinning and a surface barrier

Abstract In this work, the joint influence of the surface barrier and bulk pinning on the magnetic-field dependence of the critical current I c for bulk type-II superconductors is investigated. It is shown that in the weak magnetic field H 0 , there is a section in the dependence I c ( H 0 ) in which I c increases with the growth of H 0 ; this increase results in a pronounced peak in the dependence I c ( H 0 ) – the anomalous peak-effect. This effect is explained by the combined influence of the surface barrier and bulk pinning. Two well-known models – the Bean model and the Kim–Anderson model – of the critical state were analysed in order to describe the anomalous peak-effect quantitatively.